Manette Bridge Could Lose Its Signature Look

Residents awaiting a new Manette Bridge will be waiting until well
into the next decade. And when it arrives, it likely it won't be
the bridge locals thought or hoped it would be.

The state Department of Transportation has let city of Bremerton
officials know that haunched girders to give the appearance of arches
under the bridge are still part of the state's preliminary plans.
But everything else about the bridge will be standard, unless local
residents can come up with the money that would be needed for something
else.

The state will call for bids on the project in 2010, three years
later than originally planned.

The new bridge will replace the current span, which was built in
1930. The current bridge can more than stand the load it carries if the
earth stands still, but its ability to withstand the side-to-side
motion of an earthquake is in question.

The new bridge would increase lane width by a couple feet and would
add a shoulder and sidewalks on each side.

Complicating the issue the most is the increased price tag. In the
1990s, the state estimated the replacement bridge would cost about $26
million. The guess now is between $50 million and $55 million.

In a letter to Phil Williams, Bremerton's public works
director, state officials wrote that the construction climate has
changed over the past several years.

"We are in a different economic climate than when this project first
started design in the late 1990s," wrote Amity Trowbridge, Olympic
Region plans manager for the transportation department. "As such, local
agencies are being asked to pay for amenities that may have been
accepted for inclusion in previous years."

In a conversation in August, Trowbridge said construction costs have
also affected when projects can be built, because while the costs have
gone up, the project budgets haven't risen accordingly.

Williams said the city and the state are in conversations about the
future of the bridge. While the city has suggested design changes the
state doesn't want to make, he understands the fiscal climate with
which transportation officials are operating.

"To their credit, the state is certainly working hard to balance
their budget and the recent dramatic rises in construction costs have
hit all of their projects," Williams said.

Construction costs were an issue state Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch,
referred to at a meeting Thursday when he discussed the Belfair bypass
and other construction projects. Sheldon said steel prices have tripled
and concrete prices have doubled, driving up prices for all
construction prices.

That's one reason locals, who worked with state transportation
officials years ago to design a bridge with arches, unique guard rails
and signature lighting above and below the bridge deck, may only get
the arches.

"It is unknown at this time whether we will be asked to revisit the
estimate to accommodate the limited available funds," Trowbridge wrote.
"Should this be the case, eliminating the haunched girder feature will
be the first item considered (in) reducing project costs."

Without those girders, Bremerton residents could end up with a
bridge very similar to the Warren Avenue Bridge, which also spans the
Port Washington Narrows.

The city also has suggested that instead of sidewalks on either side
of the bridge, a single, wider sidewalk for pedestrians and bicycles
could be developed on one side of the bridge.

The state isn't inclined to go along with that request, which
would have required creation of a pedestrian tunnel under the east-side
entrance to the bridge to give walkers a safe way to cross traffic.

The state did agree with a recommendation to straighten the bridge.
Previous plans were to create a span that followed a curving
path.Instead, the entrances will include sharper turns, but the span
itself will be straight from end to end.

Williams said city officials are trying to locate a rendering the
state helped create a few years ago with locals that showed a more
signature span.

"There was an understanding that was created here locally, which
I'm getting the sense the state doesn't remember the way we
do," he said.

Finding that illustration may help create a new starting point in
addressing what's planned for the bridge.

"It was going to be a signature bridge," Williams said. "It
wasn't going to be the most basic of all available bridge
types."

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